Chapter 104: David vs Goliath

A dark purple light traveled horizontally from Rick to Big Mom at high speed. It was repelled by the latter by a single swing of her own sword. The air pressure of Charlotte Linlin’s attack was deadly and Rick barely dodged in time.

“Okay… Gravity slash infective. Gravity thrust, ineffective too, she didn’t even suffer damage. Or it wasn’t charged enough in gravity. Let’s try again.”

He infused a greater gravity in Ryusei and even added armament Haki in it to make it stronger. He thrusted forward; the blow was so fast that Big Mom couldn’t react in time in the state she was in. Perospero on the other hand could. He had created a very thick and dense candy wall just in front of his mother and protected her.

“There is this asshole too. At least my attack was effective, he wouldn’t have protected her otherwise. It takes too long to charge up gravity the way I do. Some practice is needed but that’s for later. For now, if I take this guy down, the candy Big Mom is walking on will disappear and she’ll drown”

He sprouted a hand on Perospero, coated with armament Haki and tried to hit him. Tried as his arm was almost instantly encased in candy blocking any movement.

“Smart but too predictable.” the candy man said with an arrogant smirk.

“ Well shit.”

He heard a cannon being fired, and cannonball’s impact into the sea. Looking beyond Big Mom and Perospero he saw the fleet catching up.

“And then there are those assholes! Great! I guess I’m out of options then. ”

He coated Ryusei with armament Haki and for the first time in years went into close quarters. He negated Ryusei’s weight when he swung her to slash faster. This time Linlin just blocked instead of counter attacking.

“Well, that’s an improvement.” Rick thought as he dodged Perospero’s candy.

~~~~~

Back on the Sunny, Nami was both furious and worried, she was mumbling about what she was going to do to her owner/ fiance when he came back. Once again he risked himself for everyone else's sake. She loved that side of him and hated it at the same time. Everytime he did something like this he ended up gravely wounded. Even died from it once.

“Nami, do you think he’ll be alright?” Chopper asked.
“He will. He has to.”she replied.

Seeing that his friends were still worried sick for both his captain and vice-captain, Brook had an idea.

“ Cacao Island is already in sight. We'll arrive shortly. Perhaps we can occupy ourselves with some preparations.”
““What preparations?””
“Knowing Luffy and Rick they would probably need medical attention, so I’d say, prepare the bed in the infirmary, check on any medicine they could need, and ready them so they could be used immediately.”
“That’s a good idea!” the doctor exclaimed and went inside Sunny.

Brook turned to Nami and gave him his idea for her.

“Chopper told me, you tricked Rick into proposing to you?”
“I did.” Replied with a stupid smile of satisfcation on her lips.

This was perhaps the con she was the most proud of. Tricking Rick wasn’t easy, he was smart and could detect the con a mile away. Sometimes he got caught because he just let himself get caught. He either didn’t care or did it out of love. This time was not one of those though, she got him real good.

“I’m glad you’re finally ready to reveal your relationship out in the open.”
“You knew?!”
“I only learned about it on our way here. You were not really discreet during the night. Yohohoho.”
“Oh…” was her only reply to his comment. That meant that she was successful in being sneaky all those times until her jealousy took over.
“I always wondered before finding out though.”
“How so?”
“The way he looked at you. It was more than just looking at his best friend.”
“Best friend?Me?”
“Oh yes. You’re both sneaky and cunning, like two peas in a pod. And when he seems down you are the one who he turns to talk to. Not Robin.”

That was true. She never realized it but everytime he felt down she was the one he spoke to. Sure she went to him every time, but he didn’t have to unburden himself to her. If he didn’t want to, no matter what she did he wouldn’t have told her anything. Thinking about it, she realized their relationship began back on Jaya when he gave her the gold and treasure he stole from the other pirates there. Then the gold pillar on Skypiea and their time talking about his love life there. Their friendship got stronger during the Davy back fight when he shared his plan to steal everything from them. It was their first time cooperating.
This new level of friendship was proven when they met Aokiji and the suspicions that fell on Rick. Despite everything, she had stayed loyal and supportive. She went back for him on Enies Lobby, she didn’t even think of doing otherwise. Then his relationship with Robin began, and the relationship changed again, more teasing, more jokes, they even ended up saying the same thing at the same time.  Remembering those moments put a smile on her face.
She was the one he confided in when he wanted to talk about Robin. The one he came to talk to about the most important person in his life. The one he shared his doubts and worries with first. And she did likewise. While she talked to Robin she always went to talk to Rick first, about everything, with the exceptions of her inner feelings. Those ones she didn’t tell anyone about.

“I guess, you’re right. I never really thought about it.” she confessed.
“What are you doing for your wedding? And when and where is it taking place?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t really think about the what. The where, I know. On my home island, as my sister and father figure are there. As for the when… I guess after our journey is over.”
“Then why don’t you think about the what? We got time.”
“You’re right.”

She looked at the horizon and began to think about it and lost herself in her own world.

“Now that’s two out of five. Perhaps a bit of music would distract the others?”

~~~~~

“The ones who said women are weaker than men should be punched in the face and in the balls if they are men. Damn, Big Mom hits hard.” he said as he was holding his jaw in place.

It was broken in multiple parts. The price he paid for being too slow to dodge her fist. To be fair it was because of his cracked ribs that he didn’t react in time. It was a courtesy from Perospero who landed a sneaky hit on him with his annoying candy.

Rick didn’t know how long he'd been out; the hit to the jaw sent him flying away and knocked him out. He was extremely lucky to have crashed on a house made of gelatin walls. The texture was denser but not harder. He was surprised that no one was around. In this kind of situation there were always curious people who wanted to take a look around. But there were none as if everyone had fled.

Still holding his jaw in his hand he floated slower into the air. Higher and Higher. From afar he saw Big Mom on Prometheus being led away by a ship. On the other side he saw Sunny moving toward an island. He tried to fly forward but the pain was atrocious. Ending up by sprouting arms and handing over his broken bones to lock them in place, he gritted his teeth feeling a slightly lighter pain and went on his way.

He sank the smaller ships in the fleet pursuing Sunny as he overcame it. In no time he landed on the deck. His appearance shocked his crewmates.

“OH MY GOD! RICK!” screamed Nami rushing to him.
“Chopper come here!”

Exiting the inside of the ship reindeer saw the state his vice-captain was in and immediately started to do an examination.

“Your jaw is fractured in three parts on your left side. And 6 of your ribs are cracked. Do you feel pain anywhere else?” Chopper asked.

Rick just looked at him with a deadpan face.

“Right, you can’t talk with your jaw like that.”

Rick used his hand to draw a swirl above his eyebrow.

“Sanji? He went ahead on Cacao Island, to pick up Luffy. He probably won’t be able to move a lot after his fight.”

Rick nodded, and got up.

“Wait! I’m not done.” exclaimed Chopper.

Rick made a hand gesture which meant later, at least to him, and began flying towards Cacao Island. With the rain falling he didn’t fly too high, afraid of being hit by lightning, but high enough to be just above roof level. He sat on the edge of one of the buildings and looked at the plaza. A tall mirror was in its center and every inhabitant was surrounding it. Many Big Mom pirates were there too. All were focused on the mirror.

“So that’s where Luffy will come out from. They probably broke or tossed into the sea all the others. Smart.”

Too bad for them, they wouldn’t be able to do anything. The moment Luffy appeared he would be sent directly into the sky and attracted towards Rick.
The wait was endless. Actually it was just ten minutes, but with the pain and the tiredness, to the vice-captain it seemed endless.

When Luffy appeared he was being carried by Pekoms. Now that was someone Rick didn’t expect to see. It didn’t matter though. He sprouted an arm on the mink and made everyone float in his direction. Sprouting arms all over the plaza’s ground he used a heavy gravity to subdue as many people as he could. He didn’t get everyone, the strongest seemingly unaffected, so he didn’t waste any time and fled with the others. Sanji came out from a back alley and joined him in the air.

“Sunny is not far, but the fleet is still behind, we must hurry.”

They didn’t go very far though. Plenty of Big Mom pirates had mastered the moon walk. “Flying” wasn’t something rare in the New World. They took Sanji and Rick down by surprise. With the latter's concentration broken, Pekoms, Luffy and the woman who had the mirror mirror abilities, which they held hostage and used to get out of the mirror world, fell down .

They quickly were surrounded when a huge explosion at the island’s port detonated.

The four Vinsmoke children landed around them and made a protective circle, dealing with any attackers. Sanj Picked up Luffy and Pekoms, while Rick was trying to pull himself up from the ground. Reiju came to his help.

“I got you. My god what did you do?” she asked, seeing the state he was in..
“..ight… ah ah.” he tried to reply.
“It doesn't matter, I’m getting you out of here.”

She picked him up over her shoulders, making him groan in agony, and followed Sanji. The last thing he saw before passing out was a beautiful butt cladded in pink.


~~~~~

Rick woke up, his eyes still closed. He didn’t feel any pain anymore, not from his torso and not from his jaw. He did feel those parts constricted though. He tried to move an arm but it was restrained by some weight. What was blocking his limb felt soft and bouncy. He tried to move his other arm but the same happened, except this time the weight shifted and came to rest on his shoulder. Opening one eye after the other he was not surprised to find that the weight was Nami’s head, the soft and bouncy feeling being her breasts. What surprised him was that she was not naked but instead wearing an orange nightie. It was when he turned his head to look at the other side that he was even more surprised. Reiju was here too.

“This is not going to end well…”

He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t even understand why Reiju was here to begin with. What he did know was that he was hungry and needed a cold shower as both of his bedmates had a lot of body heat.

“You know what? To hell with it. If it’s going to blow up in my face let it be sooner rather than later.”

He sprouted a hand behind Nami and grabbed her ass. He began to fondle it a bit but the redhead didn’t react. He fondled harder and harder, until being down right rough until he decided to spank her. That was effective as she woke up letting out a yell, waking up Reiju in the process.

“What the hell?!”
“Sorry, not sorry. I’ve been trying to wake you up for a while now and you were not inclined to do so.”

She was about to lash out when he grabbed her with his now free arm and pulled her down for a rough kiss. She tried to fight it, just like she did in the changing room when they were shopping but gave in quicker.

“Umm. Can I have one too?”

They had completely forgotten about Reiju. They put an end to their kiss and looked at the pinkhead who had a very happy and genuine smile with a hint of playfulness.

“Good morning Reiju.”
“Good morning indeed.” She replied, her eyes shifting towards the sheets tenting  greatly.
“May I ask why you’re here?”
“Of course, I didn’t want to sleep alone in the girls’ room so I joined the both of you in bed.”
“I mean, what are you doing here on Sunny?”
“I’m enjoying my freedom and making my own choices. Mainly joining the crew and following my fiance.” she said that with a smirk.

Rick decided to ignore the last part and turned back to Nami. He had some questions.

“How long was I out?”
“Two days.” the navigator replied.
“Luffy?”
“Woke up yesterday, and I know you’re going to ask so… yes everyone is fine.”

Rick used his thumb to pint at Reiju while still looking at his kitten.

“We’re friends, now.”
“So she’s not a sl…” he couldn’t finish his sentence as Nami shut him up by putting her hands on his mouth.
“Quiet!”
“A slut?” Reiju asked Nami.
“N-no…”
“I’m a virgin you know.”
“What?!”, “Hmfpfh?!” was all the two others could say, shocked at the revelation.”
“I never had sex. I don’t have my hymen anymore though. It broke during my training years ago.”

Then information puzzled them. She has been hyper aggressive, straightforward, and the blowjob she has given Rick showed a lot of experience. They were stunned into silence with an open mouth.

“I’m an assassin so I had to learn how to please people sexually but since I’m a princess and the Germa’s heir, I couldn’t really sleep with anyone. It’s not like I would have, every man I’ve met has been too weak to my taste and to properly handle me, that is until I met a very strong vice-captain of a particular pirate crew.” she started explaining with a knowing smile.
“So with my father not present, I was free to go after what happens to be an acceptable partner.”
“I… am sorry.”
“Oh don’t be. I came on strong despite the fact he was married. I justified my action with the two of you relationship, but the truth was that I was out of line. I just went for what I wanted because It may have been my only chance to finally disobey my father in some ways.” Reiju said with a fake smile, as if it was alright.

Nami reached out to her and pulled her into a hug.

“Reiju, you don’t have to fake how you feel anymore.”
“I know… It’s.. It’s just… I’ve been doing this my whole life, I can’t help it.” she said as tears began to fall from her eyes.
“Meh, don’t worry. Robin will teach you everything you need to know.” Rick replied, not worried one bit.
“Oh yeah, Robin may not have had the same life but had the same habit.” confirmed, Nami.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to eat, I’m hungry.”

Both women let go of each other and moved, allowing Rick to get out of bed. He removed his bandages and put a shirt and pants on. He didn’t bother with socks and shoes. Turning around he saw both ladies looking at him with a predatory glint in their eyes.

“What?”
““Nothing.”” they answered in unison.

He looked at them suspiciously but gave up on finding out what was happening. Had he been more attentive he would have seen their flustered faces. They clearly loved what they saw.

He went through the kitchen and took some fruits and milk for breakfast before going on the deck.

“Hey guys! ‘Morning!”
“You’re awake!” exclaimed Luffy.
“I am! How is everyone?”
“We’re all fine!” replied Chopper, who came to check up on his wounds and just shocked his head when he found nothing wrong with his body.
“Good! By the way, where is Jimbei? I didn’t see him inside?”
“Oh right, you were unconscious when we got back to the Sunny.” exclaimed Sanji.”
“We were surrounded by the entire fleet of the Big Mom’s pirates, when the Sun pirates came from under the sea. They allowed us to escape and Jimbei stayed behind to help them.” Brook explained.
“He promised to meet up in Wano.” Luffy added with a confident smile.
“Hey! The newspaper is here! There are new bounties!” Screamed Pedro from the nest. He jumped down followed by Carrot that was with him and landed on the deck.

Everyone of the crew present during this adventure had a serious boost.
Rick went beyond the Billion and reached the 1.2 Billion Berry mark. Laying waste alone to a good third of Linlin’s army, completely ruining her castle and the mountain on it. Finally fighting both her and Perospero. He lost but he stood his ground long enough to help the crew. That was enough for the World Government to increase his bounty significantly.

Nami didn’t reach the Billion, but her Zeus breeze tempo, her superior control of the weather compared to Big Mom and her talents as a navigator, sailing their ship while surrounded by a fleet, made her bounty’s value double. From 400 Millions she went to 800 Millions. The news didn’t pleased her one bit to the point she was crying out of despair on the side.

Sanji was jubilating. He finally beat Zoro. The difference wasn’t much, only 10 Millions but it was enough. Zoro had always been the one with the higher bounty. The first of the two to get one actually.

Brook and Chopper were sad to not have a new wanted poster. It couldn’t be helped since they were more on the support side on Whole Cake island.

Nami wasn’t the only one crying of despair on the ground. Surprisingly, Luffy was too.

“What’s wrong?” Rick asked.
“My bounty went down…It’s 150 million now.” the strawhat captain replied showing his wanted poster.
“What?” exclaimed Brook.
“Umm, Luffy? That’s not possible.” Rick stated.
“It’s true! Look!” Luffy replied putting the bounty right in front of his face.
“I looked and I read 1.5 Billion…”
““““....”””””
““““WHAT?!””””

Luffy turned the wanted poster around and started counting the zeroes together with Brook and Chopper.
“Millions, Ten millions, Hundred millions …. Bi-bi billon!”

With the shock overcome, they celebrated the feat.

“Wait! Rick, what about yours?”
“ 1.2 Billion. Congrats you beat me!”
“YEEEESSSSS!” Luffy yelled, happy to have won and reach his goal.
“Enjoy it as much as you can, but don’t be complacent because next time I may be in the lead again.”
“No way.”


Both Nami and Reiju arrived on deck. The latter went straight for him, grabbing his right arm and putting it between the valley of her breasts while resting his head on his shoulder. Sanji was triggered immediately

“Reiju, get away from him!”
“No!” she replied sticking his tongue out.
“Why does it sound like I’m some bad guy?” Rick wondered out loud.
“He’s married, Reiju!”
“And he’s engaged with me!” the pink head replied.
“““What?!””” exclaimed Chopper, Brook and Luffy.
“But he’s already engaged with Nami!” the reindeer said out loud.
“Our vice-captain is a real ladies man. Yohohoho!” joked the skeleton.
“Say what?! What are the two of you talking about?” asked Sanji, confused.

Nami saw the headache coming so did what she thought was best to avoid it. She went to her fiance, got on her toes and kissed him like a lover would. When she broke the kiss she turned to Sanji and explained the situation.

“Robin, Rick and I have been dating each other since Thriller Bark.”

Sanji died on the spot from a heartbreak. They all saw his soul leave his body when Brook grabbed it and put it back where it belonged.

“The.. the.. Three of you?” Sanji asked dumbfounded.
“Yes. But until recently I wasn’t ready to take the next step in our relationship and to make it public. I mean, two women dating… the prejudice is strong and I guess… I was ashamed of what you guys would think of me. Furthermore I was dating both, when they were already a couple…”
“That’s stupid Nami! We won’t stop liking you because you like different things.” Luffy said with a frown.
“I know that now. That’s why I’m ready to take the next step in our relationship. I want to marry both Robin and Rick.”

Sanji was furious at the revelation.

“Not only did you take Robin but Nami too? And now my sister?!” he yelled  at his vice-captain while grabbing by the collar.
“The only one I went after was Robin!”
“You’d think I’d believe that?”
“It’s the truth, though.” said Nami from the side.
“What?!
“I was interested in Rick but took a step back when he started dating Robin. It was Robin that went after me.” Nami confessed.
“Ro-Robin?” Sanji said bewildered.
“She’s not as innocent as you might think.” replied Rick.
“What about Reiju then?!”
“Oh, that’s all me! I mean, he’s smart, fun to be around, incredibly handsome and most of all strong. And he gave me my freedom just because I think of me as a friend. How couldn’t I be infatuated?” She answered with a bright smile and made her little brother quiet.
“By the way, can you let go of me?” Rick asked.
“Of course I can.” she answered but didn’t let go.
“You can but won’t… I get it.” the vice-captain replied, giving up.

He wasn’t about to put her down though. She was expressing herself, way more than the way she did previously on her last stay on the Sunny. She was less aggressive and tempting and more cheerful.  A stark contrast from when she was still her father’s slave. The idea of stopping her from enjoying her new found freedom didn’t feel right, so he endured.

Now that they had Sanji back, Rick had important things to do. His tone turned serious when he spoke up to Luffy.

“Luffy, I would like to leave for a while.”
“What for?” the captain turned serious too.

Ever since they arrived in the New World, the crew has never been together long. Rick left immediately and wasn’t with them on Punk Hazard. Half the crew got separated on Dressrosa. And when it was reunited in Zou, Sanji had left, prompting them to separate again.

“I have a daughter…”
“I know, Lynda. She’s very cute.”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Lynda, as in Boa Hancock, the pirate empress’ daughter?!”
“Yes.” answered Rick.
“You’re her father?! Robin and Nami weren’t enough?! You had to cheat?!”

Rick was once again bragged by the collar and turned to Nami for help.

“Robin and I knew.”
“What?! And you didn’t kill him?”
“Why should we? He did what Robin wanted.”
“What Robin wanted?”

Sanji’s sanity was slipping more and more the further he learned about Rick’s love life.

“Sanji, look. This is a private business. I appreciate your concern but it’s not needed. If it makes you feel better, know that Rick would have been perfectly fine with only Robin in his life and that he shares everything with us, everything. He kept no secret from Robin and I.”

Sanji went quiet a second time and released him. He turned to Reiju.

“Are you fine with that?”
“Yes. He’s already married, children from his first wife were bound to happen.” She replied, serene.

“Back to the topic at hand. I wasn’t talking about Lynda.”
“You have another daughter?!” Luffy asked, surprised.
“Yes.”
“You never said anything about her before.” Brook noted.
“That’s because I only learned of her existence on Dressrosa.”
“Wow, do you sleep around so much that you don’t even know when you father a child?”
“Sanji!”
“What?!”
“That’s uncalled for. For your information, before Robin I only was with two women. Nami was the fourth and Hanock the fifth. I hardly call that sleeping around.”
“So this daughter of yours, you didn’t know anything about, her mother is…” Brook began.
“My ex from my time in the marines. She found out a month after I left.”
“But that means she’s almost 12.” Chopper noted.
“Yes. I think it’s long enough without her father in her life.”
“... Why do you need to go now?” Luffy asked.
“Because, the only one who knows where she and her mother are, is Grandpa.”
“Grandpa?”
“Garp is a vice-admiral; he probably isn’t in a fixed place. How will you find him?”
“At the reverie.”
“What’s that?” asked Luffy.
“The reverie is an event happening every four years. The leaders of the countries affiliated to the World Government gathered in Marie Geoise.” Nami explained.
“Grandpa will definitely escort one of the leaders. So I know he’ll be there. It’s perhaps the only chance I have to meet him in the short term.”
“Okay.” replied Luffy without taking time to ponder.
“Just like that?!”
“Yes. We’re going to Zou, you’ll join us there.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s fine. Besides, I'm curious about this new niece! You better tell me everything about her!”
“I will.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay alone? Marie Geoise is the home of the celestial dragon and close to the new headquarters of the navy.” Reiju asked.
“Yes, I wouldn’t have any problem.”

Suddenly. Nami began to laugh out of the blue.

“Nami?” asked Chopper.
“What’s so funny?” Luffy asked.
“The reverie will gather every leader of the world.”
“What’s funny about that?” Brook asked.
“Vivi will definitely be there!”
“Oh shit!” Rick’s face went as white as a sheet.
“You better have a ring for her too if you don’t want to die.” Nami smirked.

Rick always wanted Vivi, after all he did his best to earn love points from her right from the beginning. Apparently he earned too much though as Vivi was borderline on the yandere field. He began to regret it a bit.

“Why?! Why him?!” Sanji exclaimed.
“Why are women flocking to him?!”
“Oh that’s easy. He’s a catch.” Reiju answered.
“And they’re not that many men like that around. Honest to a fault with both his thoughts and feelings among other things.” Nami furthered the explanation.
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about, Pudding is madly in love with you.” Rick said.
“What?!”
“Rick is right. Pudding is head over heels for you, so there is no need to complain.”

That piece of information made Sanji think. Rick went back inside to take some food and put it in a backpack as the journey will be long. Nami joined him and hugged him from behind.

“Do you have to go right now? Can’t you stay at least another day?”
“I can’t get there late.”
“I wanted a night together to celebrate our engagement.” she sighed.
“Me too. Rain check?”
“Rain check.” she said as she pulled him down for a kiss.

“You’ll have to explain to me how you became friends with Reiju when I come back.”
“There isn’t much to tell.”
“But there is something to tell. And I want to know.”

He kissed her again and exited the kitchen. He said goodbye to everyone and just before leaving, Reiju forced her own lips on his, before joining Nami.

Hrist_Waltz

And this is the end of Whole Cake island arc.
Next is a NaCB.
See you there.